Private To Meet Again

[Mercy]

THRONEWORLD
Lina Ovmar

Throneworld was gargantuan and sinful.

The corridors pristine, white and marbled, water trickling down from fountains. Vines curled around stone. Wealth, opulence, resting over Coruscant... and sometimes resting over other places, depending on where Mercy's mood was taking her. It was truly a monument to the victory that gained them the Core. All their victories, yes, but for Mercy it was her victory. The one that brought her onto the Throne.

She was not on it today however.

Instead she was sitting on a cliff, in a climate-controlled micro environment. There was a waterfall, it was trickling down, it made Mercy think of history and her place in it. It made her thoughtful, it was why nobody was allowed in these premises. No matter the power she wielded, the strength she held inside and the authority she had grasped for and conquered. There were moments where Mercy was doubtful of it all.

And to a creature like Mercy doubt was a sickening thing.

She had experienced so little of that in her lifetime.

But watching as the water fell down on the stones below, Mercy could almost feel the doubt trickle away with it.

Finally... some peace in her time.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

The number of people that Lina would patiently wait for could be counted for upon one hand, and as much as she liked Mercy, the new Empress in the Core was absolutely not one of them. They had delayed her docking, and now as she stood at the base of her landing ramp, they were being exceptionally bad at coming up with believable excuses as to where the Empress was.

They suggested a tour of Mercy's showpiece which she declined. Beautiful as the station was, it was not what she had come here to see. She let out a heavy sigh, impatience winning over as stepped back from the man in front of her and extended her reach across the vast station searching for the presence she knew was hiding. Not from her, because she had no idea she was coming, but from everything else.

There you are.

"Perhaps I can offer you - what the...."

Lina was gone, only a pool of shadows lingered where she had been standing a moment before.

Mercy would feel it before Lina appeared, the way the air seemed to suddenly taste of the Nether. She'd see it in the way shadows seemed to stretch towards her for a moment before they relaxed back to the way they had been, the soft footfall of Lina's boots as she moved to stand beside the mountain of a woman.

"You know, a Sanctuary like this should be warded against interlopers such as myself."

 

[Mercy]

Lina Ovmar

The head of the mountain tilted ever so slightly, but otherwise did not react overly to the sudden intrusion.

"You know, a Sanctuary like this should be warded against interlopers such as myself."

"Why? Boundaries were made to be challenged and pushed against." Mercy drawled back lazily as her eyes, pitches of fire, slowly dragged upwards. Taking all of Lina in, slowly. "Just as I don't like guards..." But Lina had seen a lot of guards, Graspborn and now also the addition of a new breed, Legionnaires who looked professional rather than sloppy.

"I prefer seeing people coming rather than have them slinks in through the shadows."

A smirk there.

"Speaking of, hello darling. How are you? Come to visit?"

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Lina let out a hum, smile curving her lips as she took in the surroundings. Like everything else on the station, it was an opulent display of all Mercy had accomplished. And all of it, on a whim. She was a dangerous person, it had been what had attracted her to Mercy in the first place, and she liked to put dangerous people in her pocket. You never knew when you might need them.

Her emerald gaze slid down to meet the half firrerreo's molten eyes.

"Oh I'm doing just fine, my dear. Busy slinking through shadows, as always." her eyes glittered with mirth. Smoothing the skirt on her robes she settled down on the cliff edge beside her, feet swinging gently as she peer over the edge. "I thought I should come offer my condolences. I would not wish the responsibilities of Empress of anything upon anyone. Certainly not a free spirit such as yourself."

Mercy

 

[Mercy]

Lina Ovmar

She groaned and it made her reach for her pipe.

Beginning to stuff it with herbs. Lina might not realize what sort of herbs... until it was already burning. The smoke in the air as Mercy took a deep draw and blew it out.

If she did and got a whiff of it?

She'd realize Mercy was literally smoking the same sort of herbs used to neutralize connections to the Force. It didn't seem specifically targeted to Lina however. Mercy didn't smirk about it or make a quip about losing her shadows for a moment. She was just staring out contemplatively at the waterfall while drawing in the force-deadening smoke.

"Don't fucking remind me." She finally said in a huff but then Mercy caught herself. "It's fucking great. I love it. What's not to love? A Throne, an Empire that runs from one side of the Core to the other."

Her eyes, somehow still laced with amber, despite of what she was inhaling, looked back to Lina.

"But thank you, I guess. What have you been up to since the Wheel?"

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Mercy

Lina wrinkled her nose in distaste at the stink of the herbs she used, shifting uncomfortably. It might not have been intended for her, but it did not make her any less wary.

"It's fucking great. I love it. What's not to love? A Throne, an Empire that runs from one side of the Core to the other."

Lina laughed. "Ah yes of course. Who doesn't want the responsibility of a trillion souls, all looking at them for guidance and protection."

She cast her a sidelong glance.

"You're full of shit."

She pursed her lips at the question of her own activities. "I've been preparing for a war of my own, or rather, the final battle for one I've been fighting for a long time."

 

[Mercy]

Lina Ovmar

She grunted there and it took a lot out of her not to respond in a biting fashion.

Mercy actually liked Lina.

A self-serving schutta, yes, but she was honest about it. You didn't have to expect anything else from a creature like that. And they had a fun night followed by a great fight on the Wheel. Things like that softened Mercy's approach... a touch. Especially these days compared to when she was younger and aggressively rude to anyone who breathed.

"You're full of shit."

"I got a palace in the skies that rivals small moons, darling." Mercy finally drawled, having found her center, barely. "Think what you wish. I am having the grandest time."

And yet even with the Force-deadening smog filling her lungs, her eyes were burning something fierce. The Dark Side channeling through her. You didn't experience anything like that if you were happy and satisfied. Then again, Mercy was never satisfied. It wasn't part of her state of being. She could have everything she desired and she'd still be hungry.

"I've been preparing for a war of my own, or rather, the final battle for one I've been fighting for a long time."

But there Mercy's interest piqued.

She glanced back to her and the mountain leaned in, breathing out smog, the firey orbs peaking through the curtain.

"A battle... you have my interest. Who are you waging it against? How large will it be?"

Anyone else Lina might have assumed they were fishing for information to strengthen their own position. Mercy... clearly did not care about that at all, instead she was simply excited at the prospect of good hard combat.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Lina shook her head, clicking her tongue in disapproval, setting her gaze forward instead of at the woman who's eyes were burning like someone who was far from content with her place. Still, Mercy was not a woman she wanted to push, she was volatile and unpredictable. Technically those things made her a difficult ally, but she would rather be an ally than someone on the receiving end of Mercy's rage.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, my dear." she said gently patting Mercy's thigh with a wry smile.

She rolled her eyes when the word battle clearly conjured something grand and violent in Mercy's eyes. "It is not your kind of battle, Mercy. Its the kind fought in the shadows." she pursed her lips, thoughtful for a moment. "and if you really must know, its against Carnifex."

Mercy

 

[Mercy]

Lina Ovmar

Rather than slap away Lina's hand, Mercy's settled on top of hers.

Dwarfing it with ease.

The Sith Lady would be able to feel the callouses on Mercy's hands. No wonder she often described them as shovels or tree branches. They were rough, harsh, shaped for violence and yet the touch was practically gentle for her doing.

"I sleep like a rock at night." Mercy said quietly, looking out to the waterfall again, not meeting her eye. The excitement kind of dying again, rare, because the moment she said Carnifex Mercy knew she most likely wouldn't be able to partake. Not even if it was a real battle. Being an Empress... came with so many chains.

Many more than she ever imagined.

What if she joined in and then the Sith Order decided it was a declaration of war from the Covenant as a whole? Merely because she was their loudest presence?

"A shadow war..." She murmured softly, finally meeting Lina's gaze again. "With what aim, my darling? Do you think you will be able to bring him down that way, truly?"

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Lina often forgot how large Mercy was, it wasn't the she couldn't see it, even a blind person would be able to feel the weight of her steps as she passed them, it was simply that Mercy had never tried to make her feel small. Mercy's callouses were sharp on the soft skin of the back of Lina's hand, but she didn't mind.

Lina looked away, watching the waterfall, turning the question over in her mind.

"No, I don't think its possible to bring him down at all, but cripple him? Bring everything down around him? Yes, that I will do."

Something dark shifted in her gaze. She had been waiting a long time for it and she was so very close to the end now. She took a breath in looking back at Mercy with a wry smile, waving her free hand dismissively.

"So tell me, what is next for The Empress of the Core? Is there a world she fancies adding to her collection?"

Mercy

 

[Mercy]

Lina Ovmar

Something made Mercy doubt that anything would make the Empire that Kaine had build around himself crumble or even shudder for that matter. It was not impossible, no, but that had build layers upon layers around himself. And done it cloaked in shadows. He was not the same as the Empire's Sith'ari, with a large squishy nation that could be hammered over and over again.

Most of times people didn't even know where the Malsheem was, until it had already gone.

Mercy knew all of this because Mercy had contemplated a challenge after what he had done to Tion. In the end Mercy had decided it wasn't worth the effort.

He hadn't done anything to her personally. Didn't even know about her connection to Tion. And trying to crush him sounded as fun as trying to crush an ant hill by using a needle to puncture through every individual ant.

"You have a wicked and smart mind, dear." Mercy finally said. "If anyone can manage, it is you. But steel yourself... you might be in for an exercise in frustration."

That was as much as Mercy would say about that. Lina was a grown woman, she had a right to her own battles and wars.

"So tell me, what is next for The Empress of the Core? Is there a world she fancies adding to her collection?"

She scowled without realizing it, which would tell Lina yet again that her hunch about her joy of being Empress was correct.

"So many worlds..." Mercy drawled, absently, looking at the way the smoke curled in the air in front of her. She had begun trying to shape them, into shapes, for her own amusement as the anti-force herb attempted to kill her connection to the Force, while her own body fought against it.

"But I am considering taking a vacation. Get myself out of the Core for a little bit..." Then a smirk. "Dear Madrona A’Mia has invited me to Brosi, apparently there are things afoot... wars to win. You should come too, Imperials are much more fun to crush than Kainate followers, trust me."